Why HRT is safe to combat menopause despite past scare stories

It deprived a million post-menopausal women relief of their symptoms and put them at risk of brittle bones and heart disease

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I don’t know which was worse, the MMR scare or the HRT scare. But, one thing’s for sure, both did great harm.

The MMR scare deprived children of protection against mumps, measles and rubella, and now we have a measles epidemic.

The HRT scare deprived a million post-menopausal women relief of their symptoms and put them at risk of brittle bones and heart disease by stopping them taking HRT.

Neither need have happened. The research on MMR that caused the scare has been proven wrong. And the research that caused the scare about HRT has been shown to be faulty and not applicable to people in the UK.

A new study says women can feel secure in taking HRT once again. It’s been declared safe for women under 60.

Two trials concluded HRT was dangerous and caused abandonment of HRT.

The first was the Women’s Health Initiative in 2002, the second, The Million Women Study, 2003.

Most non-scientists assumed the results of so many women must be right.

But there was a great deal wrong with both these studies.

However, the harm had been done by the associations made in the media between HRT and an exaggerated risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.

When the data was looked at closely it showed that the majority of women who had used HRT for 10 years were unlikely to come to any harm and were much more likely to benefit from taking it.

A study published by The British Menopause Society showed that negative reporting in the media had a huge influence on a woman’s decision whether to continue HRT or not.

The increase in breast cancer linked to HRT is modest – one extra case in 1,000 women taking HRT for a year.

And it’s been shown that HRT cuts the risk of heart disease in younger women.

I was involved in the original research on HRT. The moment when I analysed the data still stays with me.

The results were startlingly good – a 98% effective relief of menopausal problems.

I was only 40 at the time, but I decided I would go on HRT when I first had a hot flush.

I’m so glad that the record has been set straight so that more women can go back to using HRT sensibly.